Composting

WASTE NOT WANT NOT

Want to grow veggies more sustainably? Consider making your own compost from kitchen leftovers

BY VIVIAN WARBY

Organic waste can be used to make compost by mixing up vegetable and fruit skins, coffee grounds and eggshells. But experts say you should avoid meat or fish scraps and dairy products.

GOOD GARDENING starts with good soil and compost, which teems with beneficial bacteria and organisms, adds natural, healthy nutrients to soil.

Compost breaks up clay soils and improves sandy soils, and because you can use waste materials from the kitchen and garden, it enables you to recycle, cut down on landfill and irrigation needs, and reduce dependence on fossil fuel-based fertilisers and pesticides.

Most plant-based material – including fruit and vegetable scraps – can be composted at home. Watching the food you normally would have thrown away turn into nutritious soil and become part of the cycle of life is a rewarding endeavour.

Most of the composters you purchase come with instructions which you should follow for best results. Below are some basics:

You will need a compost bin which you can make, buy online or find at a hardware store. Ensure it is not higher than your waist and also consider fencing it off to keep rodents and pets from it.

Collect your kitchen compostables (egg shells, fruit and veg skins, coffee grounds) in a container in your kitchen – you can store them in the freezer until you need them to avoid odours.

Start your bin off with a layer of coarse materials (such as twigs) to allow for drainage and aeration. Cover this layer with leaves. Then alternate between layers of greens (nitrogen-rich material) and browns (carbonrich material).

Whenever you add food scraps or garden waste to your bin, be sure to top it with a layer of browns. If you do not add browns, your compost will be wet and break down more slowly.

SOME TIPS:

When you add fresh material, mix it in with the lower layers.

Materials should be as wet as a wrung-out sponge.

Add dry materials or water –whichever is needed – to reach this moisture level.

Mix or turn the compost once a week to help the breakdown process and to eliminate odours.

Finished compost will be dark, crumbly and smell like earth (before that it is very smelly – be warned). You should be able to create finished compost within four to six months of starting your bin.

The finished compost will end up at the top of the bin or compost pile.

Ensure the decomposition process is complete before you use your compost or microbes in it could take nitrogen from the soil and harm plant growth.